Gustave Caillebotte

Estate of the artist
Galerie Brame et Lorenceau, Paris (acquired from the above)
Private Collection, France (acquired from the above)

Marie Berhaut, Caillebotte, Sa vie et son œuvre, Paris, 1978, no. 409, illustrated p. 219
Marie Berhaut, Gustave Caillebotte, Catalogue raisonné des peintures et pastels, Paris, 1994, no. 430, illustrated p. 231

The river Seine had a particular attraction for Caillebotte, not only from an artist's point of view, but because he was an avid sailor. He spent much of his spare time competing in the regattas at the Paris sailing club and in 1881 he and his brother bought a house along the river at Petit Gennevilliers, half an hour by train from Paris. It was here that the artist settled until his death in 1894, frequently painting the boats and life along the river banks. In concentrating on these subjects, Caillebotte was following in the footsteps of Manet and then Monet, who had lived just down the river in Argenteuil and had placed so much importance on the portrayal of the water and its surroundings.

In the present work, the artist's attention is focussed on a small corner of the river bank. The water and the opposite bank are seen through the branches of a tree in wintery sunlight. The rapid brushstrokes and incised details convey the feeling of a fleeting moment captured on a breezy day.